Divyansha Sehgal – The Cornell Daily Sunhttp://cornellsun.com
Independent Since 1880Tue, 26 Sep 2017 19:51:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.4http://i2.wp.com/cornellsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-red-on-white-website-icon-2.png?fit=32%2C32Divyansha Sehgal – The Cornell Daily Sunhttp://cornellsun.com
3232New Study Offers Insight Into Gender Imbalance in Higher Educationhttp://cornellsun.com/2017/09/04/new-study-offers-insight-into-gender-imbalance-in-higher-education/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2017/09/04/new-study-offers-insight-into-gender-imbalance-in-higher-education/#commentsTue, 05 Sep 2017 01:00:37 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=2022534Gender inequality in science, technology, engineering and math has been a long documented issue, but a new study coming out of the Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality offers encouraging evidence of avenues to bridge this divide.

Dafna Gelbgiser, grad, and Kyle Albert, grad, found that green fields in higher education tend to bridge the gender divide in both STEM and non-STEM fields. Gelbgiser defined green fields as those that contribute to green jobs, which provide goods or have production processes that benefit the environment. Examples of such fields include environmental science and sustainability studies.

Gelbgiser explained that both she and Albert were interested in studying green fields since they could track “what happens when a new field of study emerges in terms of gender inequality in those fields.”

According to Gelbgiser, green fields are unique because they do not have clear roots in other disciplines. So, students do not have prior gender dispositions about the field.

“Men and women looking at fields like mechanical engineering would know that there would be very few women in those classes. If they’re thinking about psychology, they know they’re going to meet quite a lot of women,” Gelbgiser said. “But if they’re thinking about new fields like environmental engineering for example, these fields don’t necessarily have enough history for them to establish gender norms. We argue that new fields open up a new space.”

The results of their study are rooted in quantitative data. The U.S. Department of Education tracks all degree recipients for a given year. Gelbgiser and Albert analyzed data on bachelor degree recipients from 2009 to 2014 to make sure green fields were actually “gaining hold.” They found that degrees awarded in these fields rose by 81 percent over that period.

“Then we looked at the gender composition of the graduating class from fields that are green and not green, in both STEM and non-STEM areas,” Gelbgiser said. “There is a lot of literature on how women are underrepresented in STEM fields. However, women are 57 percent of degree recipients so they are over represented in other fields like humanities, social sciences, education etc.”

Green fields also had an equalizing effect for non-STEM fields that usually have a higher representation of women. A field like environmental education has a higher percentage of men relative to “non-STEM, non-green fields.”

“What it shows is that green has this systematic equalizing effect: it’s not only bringing women into STEM fields but bringing men into fields that have traditionally had more women,” she said.

According to Gelbgiser, the study shows that framing fields differently can attract both men and women.

“Traditionally we do know that fields that have a technical and scientific framing tend to have a higher proportion of men, while fields that fall into humanistic and are care-oriented, tend to have a higher percentage of women,” she said. “Green fields have the potential to close that divide in higher education because they emerge as both technical and care-oriented, scientific and humanistic.”

Additionally, the study shows that fields like psychology, sociology and computer science — that traditionally have a higher gender imbalance — benefit even more from the equalizing force of the “green effect.”

“The larger the gender imbalance in a particular field — having a very high proportion of women or a very low proportion of women — the higher the effect of green,” she said. “The difference between green and non-green is the largest in those highly imbalanced fields.”

However, Gelbgiser is cautious about the effects of green fields on the labor market.

“Green fields are still a small share of higher education and we just don’t know yet how it will play itself out in the labor market, given that the labor market has ways of replicating inequality.”

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2017/09/04/new-study-offers-insight-into-gender-imbalance-in-higher-education/feed/4Office of Financial Aid Pulls Plug on Foreign Student Employment Programhttp://cornellsun.com/2017/08/29/office-of-financial-aid-pulls-plug-on-foreign-student-employment-program/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2017/08/29/office-of-financial-aid-pulls-plug-on-foreign-student-employment-program/#respondTue, 29 Aug 2017 04:50:37 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=1996856A week before the beginning of classes this fall, international students on financial aid were notified they would no longer be eligible to participate in Federal Work Study jobs for the upcoming semester and beyond.

The 130-word email sent from the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment told students that the Foreign Student Employment Program — the program that makes international students eligible for work study jobs — had been defunded.

“After a careful review of the Foreign Student Employment Program, including a budgetary review, the decision has been made that funding for the program is no longer available,” Student Employment Advisor Nicole Waterman said in the email.

International student Ming Khan ’18, an employee at the library since her freshman year, was surprised when she unexpectedly was told her that the program would no longer be funded.

“I got an email saying that the funding for the program is not there anymore, [and] should we choose to work in a qualifying department, the department would be responsible for 100 percent of our wages,” she said. “I asked my supervisor what that means for us, and she said that they will discuss it and let us know.”

Gideon Amoah ’19, another international student who also works at the library, was upset to see the change.

“I’ve been working there since 2015 and, well, you build relationships,” he said. “The program made it easier for us to work at the library, but now I think it’s our last semester working there.”

The library, on its end, is making some accommodations for the affected students.

“During 2016–17, Cornell University Library employed 20 students with the help of the Foreign Student Employment Program,” said Bonna Boettcher, director of John M. Olin Library, Uris Library and the Library Annex, in a statement to The Sun.

“In order to help mitigate the personal impact of the cuts on the students, we have offered to continue their employment through the fall 2017 semester, while knowing that this will affect our student employment budget for the remainder of the year,” Boettcher said.

The Sun reached out to the International Students and Scholars Office for comment, but they declined to comment since the ISSO is no longer directly involved with the financial aid process for international students.

Susan Hitchcock, director of the office of Financial Aid and Student Employment, defended the cut, saying that the Foreign Student Employment Program was essentially being used to “subsidize Cornell departmental budgets [by] paying student wages.”

“This seemed like an unnecessary practice, especially when those funds could be used for direct financial aid to international undergraduate students with financial need,” she said. “The hiring departments will employ the students without the subsidy, so spending $40,000 in that way was not the most impactful use of Cornell’s limited international financial aid resources.”

However, contrary to what Hitchcock said in terms of students being able to continue with their current employer, the library has declined to comment on anything definitive beyond the current semester.

According to Hitchcock, the money will be directed toward providing at least one additional international student with financial aid.

“Under the Foreign Student Employment Program, 30 students received subsidized wages, and the beneficiaries were the Cornell departments receiving the subsidy,” Hitchcock said. “Under the new approach, those 30 students can continue to work with their current employer and receive their full wages paid entirely by the hiring department while Cornell will be able to provide financial aid to at least one additional international student a year.”

Employment during the school year contributes to the “self help” portion of a student’s financial aid, according to the FWS website. Almost a quarter of the jobs on campus are FWS jobs, while the other three quarters pay all of an employee’s wages.

Amoah also said that financial aid was awarded almost a month before he was notified that the Foreign Student Employment Program would not be funded. Employment was counted as part of the financial aid, and at this time, he does not believe that the aid will be recalculated to include the change.

Nevertheless, Hitchcock encourages affected students to contact the office if they are having trouble finding a job due to the changes.

“As is the case for any student who is having difficulty finding a job, staff in our student employment office can offer assistance,” she said. “Given the large number of jobs available for students seeking employment and the job search information available on our website, we seldom encounter students who have difficulties finding a job. Let’s not forget that there are also thousands of jobs available across campus with departments willing to pay the full cost of employing students.”

This change is nonetheless severe for the international student community and comes after the admissions process for international students became need-aware.

“Now, if you are an international student with a high financial need, you need to be exceptional,” Khan said. “Otherwise, you won’t even be accepted. [It feels like] you’re only going to be awarded that aid, and by extension the acceptance if they really really want you. This means that you’re holding international students to a much higher standard, which is unfair.”

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2017/08/29/office-of-financial-aid-pulls-plug-on-foreign-student-employment-program/feed/0Cautious: Cornell Professors Comment on Trump’s Climate Change Policieshttp://cornellsun.com/2017/02/27/cautious-cornell-professors-comment-on-trumps-climate-change-policies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2017/02/27/cautious-cornell-professors-comment-on-trumps-climate-change-policies/#commentsTue, 28 Feb 2017 03:43:34 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=1145046While Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter on Feb. 2, the nation had been experiencing one of the warmest months in decades.

The United States Geological Survey has attributed the early advent of spring to the result of climate change. The Trump Administration, however, has no plans of taking this threat seriously. President Trump has famously tweeted that climate change is a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese and the recent reports of increasing federal budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency have been met with concerns.

The Sun reached out to professors of climate science to understand their view on the matter.

“I’m a glass half-full kind of person,” said Prof. Natalie Mahowald, atmospheric sciences, on the effects of the new administration on climate science.

“I think it is too early to know the implications of the new administration on either science funding or climate change progress yet,” she said. “While this administration returns climate change to a lower emphasis than the previous administration, it is more similar to what we saw previously, with the Bush administration, and we still have a Republican controlled Congress, so it’s not clear it is new ground, or just a return to a lower status.”

Prof. David Wolfe, plant and soil ecology, agrees, saying that Trump has changed his mind about climate change and the Chinese and “all of Trump’s Cabinet picks have acknowledged that something is changing with the climate.”

“Nevertheless, all indications are that the new administration is focused on promoting and expanding fossil fuel use as opposed to exploring renewables and providing leadership on addressing the impacts of climate change,” Wolfe said.

Prof. Bruce Monger, earth and atmospheric sciences, is not optimistic about the changes, pointing to the hypocrisy in the nature of the “war on science”.

“The war on science is selective. If it goes against big corporate or religious interests, then they [Republicans] are going to discount the science,” he said. “It’s not like they don’t believe in science, I don’t think, it’s that when the science disagrees with their desired outcomes, they’re gonna discount the science.”

According to professors, there is a silver lining. Mahowald said that the recent republican legislation that proposes a carbon tax is a step in the right direction.

“Despite what goes on in Washington, local community and business leaders of all political persuasions have had little choice but to tackle the very real costs of climate change impacts, such as coastal damage associated with sea level rise and heat stress.” Wolfe said. “Many states are taking creative and effective action to not only build resilience to climate change, but also to slow the pace of climate change by promoting energy efficiency and exploring renewable energy solutions.”

Monger emphasized the importance of an international treaty like the G20 Paris Agreement, and said that it was extremely hard to pull out of something of that magnitude.

“Every leader of every nation on this earth signed [an agreement] that said that we’re not going to cross two degrees warming and to do that, we need to take the world to zero carbon emissions. It’s not some eco-crazy group mouthing off, it’s the entire planet’s leadership. How do you argue with that?” Monger said.

Wolfe and Monger both talked about the how economic reasons can also push for more climate friendly policies. Instead of the proposed coal revival to increase jobs, Monger said that the same people can be put to work creating solar panels.

“Many economists have argued that the transition to an energy future with less reliance on fossil fuels will not only reduce the costs of weather-related disasters, but will be a boon to those nations that are at the forefront of new technologies that will take the world there,” Wolfe said. “These market forces may eventually win the day and cause a shift in thinking within the Trump administration.”

There is however, a sense of urgency.

“We don’t have much time now. Cornell is going to zero carbon by 2035 for a reason. So this four-year delay is a big deal,” Monger said. “It really disheartens me that we have to struggle through this even though it is exactly the time that we need to turn it up to 11 on getting ourselves to zero carbon [emissions].”

Monger encourages students to take an active role in fighting for their beliefs through protests, voting and calling their congressmen to keep them accountable.

“Every so often, a generation gets called upon to do something extraordinary. You guys [millennials] didn’t have anything to do with all of the [climate] things that are going wrong but we have 20 to 30 years to get to zero carbon and your generation has to push it because if we cross two [degrees increase] we cross two for 10,000 years.”

The next president will play a pivotal role in shaping United States’ climate policies, making decisions fundamental to both the future of our nation and life on this planet. The Sun juxtaposes the two candidates’ views on contentious scientific issues.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/11/05/face-off-science-and-innovation-in-the-oval-office/feed/0Cornell Alumnus Wins 2016 Nobel Prize in Physicshttp://cornellsun.com/2016/10/04/cornell-alumnus-wins-2016-nobel-prize-in-physics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/10/04/cornell-alumnus-wins-2016-nobel-prize-in-physics/#respondTue, 04 Oct 2016 15:50:18 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=603073The Royal Swedish Academy for Science awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics to David Thouless PhD ’58 and two fellow scientists on Tuesday for work studying matter that can assume “strange states.”

Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, Princeton University and J. Michael Kosterlitz, Brown University, were recognized for their use of “advanced mathematical methods” to study the unusual states of matter, according to the press release. These advanced methods included usage of superconductors, superfluids and magnetic films.

“Thanks to their pioneering work, the hunt is now on for new and exotic phases of matter,” the release said. “Many people are hopeful of future applications in both materials science and electronics.”

An understanding of topological concepts in physics was essential to their discoveries, The New York Times reported. Topology is a branch of mathematics that studies properties of objects that are preserved through deformations, twistings, and stretchings. Essentially, there is no topographic difference between a coffee cup and a doughnut.

In the 1980s, Thouless explained that the precise integers attained in a previous experiment for measuring conductance — conducted with very thin electrically conducting layers — was topographical in nature. Around that time, Haldane discovered how topological concepts could be used to understand the properties of chains of small magnets found in some materials, according to The Times.

“Many people are hopeful of future applications in both materials science and electronics.” —Swedish Academy Release

“We now know of many topological phases, not only in thin layers and threads, but also in ordinary three-dimensional materials,” the academy said. “Over the last decade, this area has boosted front-line research in condensed matter physics, not least because of the hope that topological materials could be used in new generations of electronics and superconductors, or in future quantum computers.”

Two of the three nobel prize winners have strong ties to Cornell. As a postdoc, Kosterlitz collaborated with Thouless while he was still at Cornell, perhaps originating a future partnership in Ithaca. Thouless was awarded half of the prize of eight million Swedish kronor, or about $930,000, while Haldane and Kosterlitz share the other half.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/10/04/cornell-alumnus-wins-2016-nobel-prize-in-physics/feed/0Cornell Offers Online Course on Genetically Modified Organismshttp://cornellsun.com/2016/08/29/cornell-offers-online-course-on-genetically-modified-organisms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/08/29/cornell-offers-online-course-on-genetically-modified-organisms/#commentsTue, 30 Aug 2016 03:48:09 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=513476Genetically Modified Organisms have been a topic of much controversy, even though they have been transforming the way we produce and consume food. Cornell is now offering a Massive Online Open Course on EdX, called ‘The Science and Politics of GMO’, to help students understand why “the GMO is politically contentious.”

Starting September 13, 2016 this five week interdisciplinary course will provide an introduction to genetic engineering and biotechnology in the context of GMOs and help study the politics of GMO at both an individual and a societal level, according to the course website.

The course is taught by professors across disciplines,and that is what makes it unique. Prof. Sarah Evanega, plant breeding and genetics, Prof. Ronald Herring, government, Prof. David Just, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Jaron Porciello, Associate Director, Research Data Engagement and Training in International Programs and Rebecca Harrison, grad come together to comment on and explain this issue in a multifaceted manner.

Just rightly describes the course as a “marriage of science and social science.”

“The GMO issue consists of a new technology with great promise, and the social movements and consumer reactions to that new technology,“ he said. “A full perspective can only be gained by understanding both the hard science that informs us about technology and the social science that informs us about the controversy.”

Since there are “unprecedented challenges” facing the world today, Evanega said, it is important to understand if GMOs have a role to play in these challenges.

“We need to understand both the risks and the possible rewards of GMOs,” she said.

She also emphasised the practical skills taught in the course, and said that students will learn to understand how their choices as individuals affect society.

“Through an exploration of “The GMO,” students will gain a deeper understanding of how science works, how to evaluate the quality of data; principles of social psychology as applied to politicized scientific controversies; and how to connect their values to positions based on evidence,” she said.

Just finds consumer behavior regarding GMOs fascinating. Consumers are presented with familiar foods that have been changed in some way by an unfamiliar process, and consumer reaction to this unfamiliarity is worth studying.

“This unfamiliarity creates the opportunity for biases in the way people assess food safety and environmental risks,” said Just. “More importantly, often the direction of the bias depends heavily on who benefits the most from the GMO — often leading to widely conflicting views on safety.”

Harrison explained why, due to its history, Cornell has a voice on the issue.

“Cornell has a long and controversial history in its role in the development of GMOs, which makes it a bit of a lightening rod on this topic,” she said. “However, from my perspective as a graduate student studying these issues, it also means we are in the perfect place to really pull the issue apart.”

Because GMOs are a controversial topic, Evanega said that the course focused on equipping students with tools to critically analyze this and other issues.

“This course is important not only in helping people navigate the confusion around GMOs but [also] offers course participants information literacy tools that they can apply to better understand other controversial areas in science.”

edX is a nonprofit, open-source learning destination offering online courses from more than 100 member institutions, composed of both leading global universities, and colleges and a diverse group of prominent organizations from around the world.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/08/29/cornell-offers-online-course-on-genetically-modified-organisms/feed/1Cornell Researchers Use CO2 to Make Electricityhttp://cornellsun.com/2016/08/23/cornell-researchers-use-co2-to-make-electricity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/08/23/cornell-researchers-use-co2-to-make-electricity/#respondWed, 24 Aug 2016 00:25:23 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=497700Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have been long characterized as one of the leading causes of global warming. And with the seemingly limitless sources of emission — from general breathing of countless living species to vehicular and industrial emissions — the amount of carbon dioxide seems to be ever increasing. It is then, a huge waste of a resource when you consider how comparatively limited the human use of this abundant gas is.

The paper “The O2-assisted Al/CO2 electrochemical cell: A system for CO2 capture/conversion and electric power generation”, published in Science Advances, aims to change that.

Prof. Lynden Archer, chemical and biomolecular engineering, the James A. Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering, and Wajdi Al Sadat, grad — who are the authors of this paper — have created a cell which can use carbon dioxide to produce electricity via electrochemical reactions.

“What we have accomplished is demonstrating of the concept that carbon dioxide can be electrochemically converted to useful products while producing electricity,” Sadat said.

The cell works galvanostatically, meaning energy is produced when the anode and cathode are connected to a load, Sadat explained.

“There are three main parts to the cell. The anode… [is] aluminum metal. The cathode is porous carbon thats electrically conductive and allows the diffusion of O2 and CO2 gases to the electrolyte,” Sadat said. “The electrolyte [is] the the liquid between the anode and cathode. It allows the transport of different ions.”

Aluminium was chosen as the metal because it is the third most abundant metal in the earth’s crust making it inherently cheap, Sadat said. It is also safer to handle and has a high energy density as compared to other metals.

“We acknowledged early on that the selection of an appropriate metal is key to developing any economical capture technology based on electrochemical conversion,” Sadat said.

Aluminum is oxidized meaning it loses electrons to the circuit, and the aluminium ions are released into the electrolyte, while the electrons reach the cathode through an external circuit. When the electrons reach the carbon cathode, oxygen is converted to superoxides through reduction (gaining electrons). This is very important since the highly reactive superoxides enable reactions with mostly unreactive carbon dioxide.

“Through a series of reactions, the reduced CO2 forms C-C bond with other CO2 molecules and forms aluminum oxalate,” Sadat said. “If we continue feeding in aluminum [through the] anode and O2 and CO2 through the cathode and harnessing out the aluminum oxalate, the cell will continue to work producing electrical power and converting CO2 to valuable oxalate.”

The proposed cell is very flexible and can be used on both small (such as vehicular exhaust) and large (industrial and power plants) scales, Sadat said.

“Since the anode is inherently safe to handle and the battery can be configured in flow battery setup, we think increasing the size is very attainable,” Sadat said. “If we incorporate our cell in exhaust streams, the released CO2 can be captured and converted to useful products. An auxiliary stream will also come from air to supply the O2.”

However there are, drawbacks to this technology. The electrolyte in the cell is sensitive to water.

“So, water will have to be separated from exhaust streams if the cell is to be incorporated in industrial applications,” Sadat said.

There are many well established water separation technologies, but the lab is looking to use electrolyte systems that insensitive to water.

“Ongoing work in our lab is looking into different classes of electrolytes that are insensitive to water and even cheaper than the currently used one,” Sadat said. “If we managed to do that the impact will go beyond our aluminum/CO2 cell to aluminum batteries in general.”

Though still in its elementary stages, the technology could have a very real impact in the world very soon. Sadat said that if industrial or power plants were to be retrofitted with the proposed technology, they could reduce CO2 emissions while producing useful products along with electrical power, thus expanding their value chain.

“I think this is a starting platform that can be built on to engineer electrochemical systems that can tackle multiple problems at the same time,” Sadat said.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/08/23/cornell-researchers-use-co2-to-make-electricity/feed/0Cornell, University of Queensland Offer Free Online Shark Coursehttp://cornellsun.com/2016/05/29/cornell-university-of-queensland-offer-free-online-shark-course/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/05/29/cornell-university-of-queensland-offer-free-online-shark-course/#commentsMon, 30 May 2016 03:45:53 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=270364Already excited for shark week? Can’t get enough of the sharp toothed fish? Well, you’re in luck. Cornell University, in collaboration with The University of Queensland, has created a Massive Open Online Course on sharks titled ‘Sharks! Global Biodiversity, Biology and Conservation.’

The course is free and focuses on the total diversity of living cartilaginous fishes — the larger group of about 1,200 living species that includes the sharks, rays, and ratfishes, according to Prof.William Bemis, ecology and evolutionary biology, an instructor for the course. The course starts during Shark Week on June 28th and registration is currently open.

“Our course will be free to anyone in the world with an Internet connection,” Bemis said. “We thought this might help to spread our global conservation message that shark populations need help if we are to prevent further declines and possible extinctions.”

Acknowledging that sharks are a fascinating and complex species, Bemis said the course aims to answer the question — ‘How do scientists study sharks?’

“Sharks have fascinating and highly specialized sensory systems, including the ability to detect weak electric fields in the water,” Bemis said. “By comparing the anatomy of sensory systems in different types of sharks, you can gain insights into their sensory worlds to understand.”

Bemis added that new research and technologies are making significant contributions to the way in which scientists study and understand sharks. He said exploring these new developments will be an important component of the course.

“Students will have opportunities to track wild sharks, engage via our discussion board with course enrollees from around the world, learn tips for visiting local aquariums to study sharks, and see original research images documenting key biological concepts,” Bemis said.

The course will even offer students a chance to track shark movements on Twitter, according to the course website.

Bemis explained that the MOOC was born of a course he taught at Cornell’s Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, Maine.

“We wanted a chance to speak one to one with world authorities on shark tracking, sensory systems, evolutionary history, anatomy, behavior, ecology, and human interactions,” Bemis said. “So we recorded video interviews with more than 30 researchers at other institutions in North America and Australia.”

Prof. Ian Tibbetts, biology, University of Queensland, called the course an opportunity to understand shark evolution and learn from global experts in the field.

“The course enables participants to see the impact of human interactions on shark populations, the ecological role of sharks and the importance of conservation for these mysterious sea dwellers,” Tibbetts said.

For students who want to continue learning about sharks and are motivated to study sharks in nature, Bemis said a three week field course is being designed to act as a continuation of the MOOC.

“[The field course] will be held in Queensland Australia in Jan. 2018, and promises chances to learn about sharks first hand from leading scientists,” Bemis said.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/05/29/cornell-university-of-queensland-offer-free-online-shark-course/feed/24Cornell Vet School Grant to Subsidize Pet Cancer Treatmenthttp://cornellsun.com/2016/05/28/cornell-vet-school-grant-to-subsidize-pet-cancer-treatment/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/05/28/cornell-vet-school-grant-to-subsidize-pet-cancer-treatment/#commentsSat, 28 May 2016 20:26:21 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=266649Cornell’s College Of Veterinary Medicine has received a $350,000 grant from the Petco Foundation and the Blue Buffalo Foundation to subsidize treatment of pets with cancer.

The ‘Petco Foundation & Blue Buffalo Foundation Cancer Treatment Support Fund’ will allow Cornell University Hospital for Animals to provide financial assistance to owners of cats and dogs who cannot otherwise afford to treat their pets with cancer.

Dr. Margaret McEntee, DVM, the Alexander de Lahunta Chair of Clinical Sciences, said the college was grateful to the foundations for their help providing owners with “high-quality cancer treatment” for their pets.

“One of the saddest things a veterinarian witnesses is when a beloved pet is diagnosed with cancer, and the owner realizes that he or she can’t afford treatment,” McEntee said.“Radiation and chemotherapy can make an enormous difference in the pet’s quality of life, but the cost puts them out of reach for many people.”

Susanne Kogut, executive director of Petco Foundation, said in the press release that the group was happy to support “outstanding pet cancer treatment initiatives” all over the country.

“Not only do programs like Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine directly support the health and well-being of animal patients, but these experiences also help to stoke the interests of future veterinarians as we seek to eradicate pet cancer,” Kogut said.

David Petrie, the president of Blue Buffalo Foundation, said in the press release that Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine has always provided exemplary care to pets and families.

“We are thrilled that this investment will help to reduce the financial burden on a number of families pursuing life-changing veterinary procedures,” Petrie said.

The Petco Foundation and the Blue Buffalo Foundation have earmarked nine million dollars for treatment and research since partnering in 2010 to combat pet cancer. Other recipients included the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

]]>http://cornellsun.com/2016/05/28/cornell-vet-school-grant-to-subsidize-pet-cancer-treatment/feed/1Student Team Supports Sustainable, Collaborative Developmenthttp://cornellsun.com/2016/04/19/student-team-supports-sustainable-collaborative-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
http://cornellsun.com/2016/04/19/student-team-supports-sustainable-collaborative-development/#respondWed, 20 Apr 2016 02:10:50 +0000http://cornellsun.com/?p=153914While many of us often dream of making the world a better place, a small group of students at Cornell are working hard to turn that dream into reality. Members from Cornell’ s chapter of Engineers Without Borders will be spending the summer in Calcha, Bolivia, building a bridge that would help the local community become more sustainable.

Started during the 2011- 2012 academic year, this is EWB Cornell’s first project. Yezy Lim’ 17, executive board member, explained that one of the biggest problems that the rural community of Calcha faces is that of a lack of water and an access to farmland.

“…[it’s not] because they don’t make food, they just can’t collect the food during harvest time,” Lim said. “There’s a huge river that goes between their crops, and where the people live. It gets super rainy during harvest season, the river overflows and they can’t really access any of their crop.”

The aim of the project is to help increase the sustainability of the community by allowing them to harvest their own food. Because it is dangerous for the locals to cross the river when it is flooded, the team decided that building a bridge would be a feasible solution.

“We’re building a suspension bridge that is about 50m long, and it’s going to be built our of materials that are native to Bolivia, so we’re not importing any bridge materials from the US,” Lin said, “That bridge is going to connect the town to the crops so that even when the river is flooded, they can safely cross over the bridge and get access to their food, so that they don’t have to rely on their neighboring communities.”

The team has already had two assessment trips in the summers of 2014 and 2015 to understand the problem and the location.

“[The assessment trips helped understand] what the problem was, see what kind of soil there was so that we can figure out what kind of bridge we can build best, plan out what they [the community] actually need,” Lin said. “The 2016 trip is going to be eight students and four faculty members, and they are going to be there from middle of June to middle of August, to actually build the bridge from beginning to end.”

Image Courtsey of Yezy Lim

Team Member Surveying Land for Bridge Construction

Lin, who has herself been on one of the assessment trips describes the experience as a powerful one.

“It’s a great experience not only because you get to see different cultures but because as college students you often feel powerless,” Lin said. “This makes us [college students] feel like we’re knowledgeable people who can actually make a difference.”

Bethany Schull ‘18, one of the members travelling to Bolivia this summer, agrees and underlines the sustainability of the projects that the organisation undertakes.

“For me our mission and our goal is so in line with how I feel about sustainable development should work, ” Schull said. “It’s not like we’re going into a community and telling them what they need to do in order to become better, they come to us with problems and questions and they work with us to find sustainable solutions.”

Currently, the team is divided into three different subteams — business, bridge and water. The business subteam is responsible for making the trips possible and raise enough money to make the project feasible. The bridge team has been involved with designing and redesigning the bridge, while the water subteam is presently a secondary project, which supposed to help improve the community’s access to water.

However, the structure of the team is open to change depending on the project. Lin emphasised that this flexibility, both in roles and in projects is at the very backbone of the team.

“While our current project is in Bolivia, the next one can be anywhere in the world. Depending on the community, our projects change. From creating agriculture systems, to dams, to roads, the projects are varied,” Lin said. “So depending on the project, the team will change.”

Not only does the team provide a chance to make a difference, Lin said that it also helps develop practical skills.

“It’s given me such incredible leadership experiences like leading a group of 43 students, logistics, organizational skills, time management,” Lin said. “Having that additional responsibility than just being a student has completely changed my experience here.”

Schull added that hands on experience is another important aspect of being a part of the project team.

“I’ll be writing design calculations for different parts of our bridge, and I’ll be using the skills I’ve learned in statics, and different courses,” Schull said. “ It’s really cool to see that the material we have learned so far at Cornell can actually be applied and useful.”

But when all is said and done, it is the idea of helping out to make a lasting change in the world that motivates the team to work hard.

“ I think it’s going to be a privilege for our entire team to be able to say that we built a bridge that will last for many many years and will help 200+ people, in Calcha Bolivia,” Lim said.